Notre Dame’s k-factor against Ohio State, and it’s not Riley Leonard

Notre Dame football is a heavy underdog going in National Championship game next Monday against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Marcus FreemanThe team has three impressive wins this year against No. 8 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Penn State. recently, Fighting Irish win over Nittany Lionsafter falling behind 10-0 early, it showed just how resilient this program has become under his head coach.

The Fighting Irish are led by an elite defense that has been among the best in the country for much of the season. Despite losing his captain, cornerback Benjamin Morrison, for the seasonNotre Dame’s secondary has shown up in the playoffs against several talented passing offenses. This trend continued in the Orange Bowl, where Penn State quarterback Drew Allar struggled, completing about 50% of his passes for just 135 yards and an interception. The signature play of this game came in the last minute when Alar threw a pick that led to Battling the Irish’s game-winning field goal.

On the other side of the field, the quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense grew as the game wore on. Marcus Freeman’s team had to show another level of offense against Penn State’s physical defense. The usual “ground and pound” read-option style that the Fighting Irish usually impose on opponents didn’t work at first. Fortunately, Leonard has his most passing numbers since October 12th, throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown.

However, the Duke graduate transfer will have to have a cleaner game against the Buckeyes, as he also threw last Thursday. While Leonard’s performance will be critical on January 20, he is not the k-factor. The player who gets that tag will forever haunt Penn State fans for what he did in the Orange Bowl. The wideout was the difference against the Nittany Lions and will have to take on a similar role against the Buckeyes.

Jaden Greathouse is the x-factor for the national championship game

Jayden Greathouse is a sophomore from Austin, Texas who was a A 4-star recruit from the class of 2022. For the 2024 season, the 20-year-old has just 36 catches for 464 yards and two touchdowns to this point. Still, Greathouse leads the Fighting Irish in receiving yards, showing just how reliant this team is on the run. But more importantly, Jaden is coming off the best game of his career when his team needed him the most.

As he thrived in Penn State’s talented secondary, Greathouse opened the game wide. The sophomore caught seven passes for a career-high 105 yards and a touchdown. That one score came on an electric 54 reception that tied the game at 24-24 with 4:38 left. In that play, Greathouse showed the kind of explosiveness the Fighting Irish will need to defeat the Buckeyes.

Notre Dame needs to be unpredictable against Ohio State’s elite defense

Ohio State statistically has the best defense in the country. The Buckeyes are allowing just 12.2 points per game and have continued their elite form in the College Football Playoff. After a brutal loss to MichiganRyan Day’s team responded to this predicament in a remarkable way. The Buckeyes have rattled off three straight wins over legitimate title contenders, but haven’t given up more than 21 points during that stretch.

Jack Sawyer fumble return for a touchdown showed how this unit feels right now. For the season, Ohio State is giving up just 89.9 yards per contest on the ground, which ranks third overall in the nation. While Notre Dame has already played elite rushing defenses this playoff in Indiana and Penn State, none of those Big Ten opponents have the athletes the Buckeyes have.

The Fighting Irish must keep Ohio State on their toes throughout the game to prevent Ohio State’s explosive offense from the backfield. This play could come down to possession at times due to the gap between the two offenses in terms of their dynamic. The Buckeyes will try to stack the box to force the Notre Dame football into obvious throwing situations.

All in all, Marcus Freeman’s team needs a potential game-breaker like Jaden Greathouse to help balance a struggling attack. The Fighting Irish don’t have many weapons on the outside to seriously worry Ohio State’s elite secondary, a similar conundrum Penn State faced against the Buckeyes earlier this year. Still, this is one game on the biggest stage of all. It is not known how each team will react to this moment. Greathouse had a moment in the Orange Bowl in 2025. He’ll have to repeat that performance and maybe even set new career highs for Notre Dame football to win its first national championship since 1988.